Articulated swimming pool vacuum fixture



Jan. 2, 1968 A. FONTECCHIO 3,360,816

ARTICULATED SWIMMING POOL VACUUM- FIXTURE Filed May 19, 1966 /7 I N VENTOR wawasx Miff'V/d United States Patent 3,360,816 ARTICULATED SWIMMINGPOOL VACUUM FIXTURE Nicholas A. Fontecchio, 7401 W. 93rd, Westchester,Calif. 90045 Filed May 19, 1966, Ser. No. 551,378 Claims. (Cl. --1.7)

The present invention relates generally to fixtures for use in vacuumingswimming pools and more particularly, the invention relates to animproved vacuum fixture which substantially increases the speed andefficiency of swimming pool sweeping.

It has been a known practice for some years to clean swimming pools toremove the collected sediment and dirt by the use of a vacuumingprocedure. Such procedures have involved a vacuum line connected to thepool filter with a vacuum similar to the common carpet sweeper type oftool. Thus, by moving the tool along the bottom and sides of the pool,the sediment is picked up with a quantity of water and will be caught bythe filter.

A substantial business has grown up in many communi ties providingmaintenance and cleaning service for domestic and commercial pools, andin the conduct of such service businesses, it is the usual practice fora service company to vacuum a considerable number of pools in one day.The number of pools which a man can service in one day is primarilylimited by the amount of time it takes him to vacuum each pool, althoughit is customary for him to perform additional tasks such as cleaning theedge tile, adding chemicals, etc. A skilled Serviceman using the bestequipment presently available can vacuum a x 40 pool of averagesedimentation in approximately twenty-five to thirty minutes.

The present invention is an improvement over available equipment. Bysubstantially increasing the effective pickup area of the vacuumfixture, the invention materially decreases the time for vacuuming aswimming pool without decreasing the effectiveness of the results. Withthe small tools now available, the operator must move the vacuumrelatively slowly at a uniform rate in order that he does not causeturbulence in the water to disturb the sediment. The vacuum fixture ofthe present invention will permit a skilled operator to vacuum the samepool described above in approximately eight minutes even though he willstill have to move the tool at about the same speed as before. This willpermit him to service a greater number of pools in a given day and do itwithout any decrease in the efiiciency presently attainable.

It is an object therefore of the present invention to provide animproved swimming pool vacuum fixture.

More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to providean improved vacuum fixture having substantially increased pickup area.

It is another specific object of the present invention to provide animproved vacuum fixture which is articulated to permit its movement overthe uneven surfaces of a swimming pool so that all portions thereof canbe quickly and efiiciently cleaned.

It is one of the advantages of the present invention that the improvedvacuum fixture can cover a substantially larger area than heretoforepossible without encountering difficulties in reaching the smaller areasand corners of a pool.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentupon reading the following description in conjunction with the drawingsin which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a vacuum fixture made in accordancewith this invention.

3,360,816 Patented Jan. 2, 1968 FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken alongline 22 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a bottom plan view of the vacuum fixture. I

FIGURE 4 is an elevation of the vacuum fixture on reduced scale,exhibiting the articulated features thereof.

Turning now to the details of the drawings, the fixture comprises a pairof substantially fiat vacuum plates 10 and 11 which are secured togetherat the center of the fixture by means of a hinge 12 so that the platemay be freely pivoted upwardly or downwardly. The hinge 12 may beconstructed by forming a tongue portion 13 upon one of the vacuum plates10 and receiving said tongue 13 between the ears 14 of plate 11 wherethey are afiixed by the hinge pins 12a. This can best be seen in FIGURE3.

The entire fixture is supported for movement along the bottom of a poolsurface by a plurality of wheels 15 which are suitably mounted to thevacuum plates 10 and 11 and may be enclosed in wheel housings 16 asshown. Thus, the entire plates 10 and 11 including the housings 16 andthe portions of the hinge 12 can be integrally cast as single elements.To facilitate the casting procedures, the vacuum plate 11 is formedhaving three of the wheel housings 16, while plate 10 carries the fourthwheel. On the rear middle wheel, or connected to the housing thereof,there is a handle yoke 17 pivotally mounted and provided with acylindrical sleeve 18 adapted to receive therein an elongated handleportion 19. This handle 19 is the means by which the operator moves thevacuum apparatus slowly over the inner pool surface.

Upon each of the vacuum plates 10 and 11 there are integrally formed thehose bibs 20 providing an opening or passage 21 through the platescommunicating with the lower surface 22 thereof. Surrounding the entireperiphery of the lower surface 22 there is a molded skirt 23 whichextends to a position such that it will be very close to the surfaceupon which the wheels 15 will be resting. Skirt 2'3 permits theformation of a better vacuum between the surface 22 and the poolsurface.

To each of the hose bibs 20 there are connected flexible branch lines24, having their other extremities coupled to the arms 25 of a T section26. Flexible vacuum hose 27 couples to the third outlet of T section 26and, in accordance with customary practice, is of considerable length,and frequently provided with buoyant elements holding it on or near thesurface of the Water, and the other extremity of vacuum hose 27 is to beconnected to the pool filter inlet.

As can be seen readily from FIGURE 4, the hinge 12, together with theflexible branch lines 24 and the outboard wheels 15a, permit the twovacuum plates 10 and 11 to move so that the sweeper can easily cover theupwardly curving portion of a pool bottom to catch any sediment whichhas collected there. In addition, the articulated plates 10 and 11 willreadily pivot to cover downwardly curving surfaces such as where theshallow end drops off into the deep end of the pool. This portion of aswimming pool has always been the most difficult and time consuming partto sweep effectively since it is at a point which is hard to reach fromthe end of a pool and requires extra sweeping strokes if attacked fromthe side of the pool. Although the fixture of the present invention isquite large, the fact that it is articulated permits its use in smallareas such as the steps, since a very good sweeping action can still beobtained by using one-half of the fixture to cover each step. At thesame time, the other half of the fixture will flop down and vacuum thesides of the steps while the top is being vacuumed.

In the preferred embodiment of this invention, the fixture isconstructed having a width of approximately 20 inches, this being alittle more than twice the width of sweeping fixtures presentlyavailable. It should be noted, that although the device is about twiceas large as other similar fixtures, it doesthe same work in aboutone-third the amount of time rather than one-half, as might have beenexpected. The advantages obtained from the articulation of the fixturematerially enhance the speed and efiiciency of its use. Although thepreferred embodiment shows a fixture having two sections, it is alsocontemplated to employ multiple sections, each hinged together andhaving separate branch hoses connected thereto. For example, anotherembodiment may consist of three or four vacuum plates, each having abranch hose connected to it. This may be particularly advantageous forpool bottoms having unusually irregular surfaces.

While a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown anddescribed, it will be obvious to persons skilled in the art that changesand modifications might -be made therein. It is the aim of the appendedclaims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within thetrue scope and spirit of this invention.

I claim:

1. A swimming pool vacuum fixture comprising a plurality of vacuumplates, means affixing said plates together permitting .pivotal movementtherebetween; a plurality of vacuum lines, mean-s affixing one of saidvacuum lines to each of said vacuum plates, said vacuum lines havingmeans for coupling to a filtering apparatus.

2. A vacuum fixture of the type described in claim 1 wherein said vacuumplates are provided with a plurality 3 of wheels mounted thereon, saidwheels being positioned to permit said plates to move in closerelationship to the surface being vacuumed.

10 ward and downward pivotal movement of said plates, a

plurality of wheels mounted upon said plates, handle means pivotallyattached to said plates; a pair of flexible vacuum lines, means couplingsaid vacuum lines to a common vacuum line adapted to be attached tofiltering 15 apparatus, each of said vacuum plates having a hose bibformed thereon, said bib providing an axial passage to the lower surfaceof said plate, each one of said flexible vacuum lines coupled to one ofsaid hose bibs; a skirt depending from the lower surface of each of saidvacuum 20 plates, said skirt extending substantially around the entireperiphery of said fixture.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 25 3,085,267 4/1963 Jacuzzi 15-113,243,830 4/1966 Conrad 1s 1.7 3,273,188 9/1966 Levack 1s 1.7

0 CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner.

E. L. ROBERTS, Assistant Examiner.

1. A SWIMMING POOL VACUUM FIXTURE COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF VACUUMPLATES, MEANS AFFIXING SAID PLATES TOGETHER PERMITTING PIVOTAL MOVEMENTTHEREBETWEEN; A PLURALITY OF VACUUM LINES, MEANS AFFIXING ONE OF SAIDVACUUM LINES TO EACH OF SAID VACUUM PLATES, SAID VACUUM LINES HAVINGMEANS FOR COUPLING TO A FILTERING APPARATUS.